Chicago 'L'
The Chicago Elevated is the high and metro Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Name
Chicago Elevated ( Railroad ) is known as " Chicago Elevated Train " translate. Colloquially, the Chicago Elevated may be referred to as the Chicago El, Chicago L, El or L. In official parlance it is referred to as L. This also applies to the parts of the network that run on the ground or in tunnels.
History
The oldest sections of the network of the "L " are from 1892. 1893 a branch line to the World Columbian Exposition was built on the continued designated as " Intramural Railway" first electrically operated overhead railway in the world.
In 1924 through the merger of several privately operated railways, the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Co. (founded in 1892), the Lake Street Elevated Railroad Co. (1893 ), the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad Co. (1895 ) and Northwestern Elevated Railroad Co. (1900), the Chicago Rapid transit Company (CRT). Their network formed the basis of today by the Chicago Transit Authority ( CTA) operated network, which was further expanded.
Route network
The route network of the regular service has a length of 106.1 miles ( 170.8 kilometers ). Of these, run 57.1 miles ( 91.9 kilometers ) as elevated railway, 36.9 miles (59 km) at ground level and 12.1 miles ( 19.5 km ) of the tunnel. The total length of the network - including all not used in regular service operating lines and facilities - is 222 miles ( 357 km ). The route network opens up Chicago, Evanston, Skokie, Wilmette, Rosemont, Forest Park, Oak Park and Cicero. It has 144 passenger stations, 17 of which offer park - and-ride facilities, with 6639 parking spaces.
A special feature of the network is the " loop", a high- Bahn ring, the center of the line network. It runs as a ring railway in about 8 meters height elevated over streets and surrounds the core of downtown Chicago. A rarity is the same level crossing of two double-track routes on the northwest corner of the " loops " with numerous connection points in a confined space, enabling the route change in three directions and the change to the track the opposite direction.
Another special feature on the Blue and the Red Line are within the " loops " in the inner city stations, with over long platforms where the trains stop several times in succession and each stop is its own station. The platform of the Red Line between the stations and Lake Jackson. Between the two is still the additional maintenance Monroe. The common platform of the three stations is 3500 ft ( 1050 m) longer than the the Blue Line at 2500 ft ( 750 m ). This ranges from Washington to Jackson, and also includes an additional stop Monroe. The platform of the Red Line is valid according to the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest subway platform in the world. The areas of these long platforms are weaker lit outside the stations and have hardly any outputs.
Along the highways that radiate to the surrounding areas of Chicago, then the "L " on routes between the carriageways for the two directions of travel. Chicago took in the 1950s played a pioneering role in the use of the median strip for light rail routes.
Lines
The "L" operates eight lines, each labeled for identification in its own color. Seven of the lines link the city center with suburbs and communities of Greater Chicago. The Purple Line runs only at peak times to the city center. The Yellow line, however, serves a branch line from Howard to Skokie station. Of the remaining lines all go - except the Red and the Blue - the "Loop" to. The Red and the Blue Line, however, pass through the city center in the " Loops " as a subway.
All stations are staffed with at least a customer service representative, tickets are available but only at the ticket machine.
Chicago is one of the few American cities, in the two major airports can be reached by rail. The Blue Line runs from the city center within 40 minutes to Chicago O'Hare Airport, the Orange Line in half an hour to Chicago -Midway Airport.
Importance
The "Chicago L " is one of the busiest transport systems of the United States. According to statistics from 2003, used daily on weekdays 494 743 people on Saturdays 262 791 people on Sundays and 180 951 people, the "L". Per year, this corresponds to a number of passengers of 150 million. Despite their prominence in the townscape, the "L" but not the conveyance of public transport in Chicago most widely used. This is the bus system of the CTA, the 148 lines connecting all the region with Chicago.